The present invention is generally directed to document imaging, and more particularly to automatically capturing travel document information for entry into systems related to processing travelers, particularly at airports, seaports, borders, etc. It relieves the entry person from having to manually type/enter this information. Even more specifically, it is a tool that can be integrated into a mobile application to capture the traveler's information from a travel document and presents it to the mobile application for further processing.
There is an increased demand for accurate and fast identification processing both by the public and private sectors. For the United States and foreign governments, this effort has been concentrated along the ports of entry. For the private sector, this effort has largely been concentrated in the airline and boating industry.
Businesses or government entities, as part of their identification process, have for years had the challenge of how to quickly and accurately process the information contained in the MRZ (machine readable zone—see FIG. 2) of travel documents. An MRZ typically includes two or three lines of text/characters provided at the bottom of the travel document, and may also include background imaging, textures, graphics, etc. The answer to doing this quickly and accurately for several decades has been to use document readers attached to work stations. Document readers that read travel documents have been around for over a decade. They are physical devices typically attached to a computer, and they tend to be bulky, thereby making it very difficult to use with mobile devices.
Presently, there are two types of document readers:
Swipe—the bottom portion of the travel document containing the MRZ is inserted into a slot and slide across this slot for the entire length of the travel document. A camera is located recessed within this slot. The first versions of these types of readers were bulky. Attempts at making them small enough to fit on tablets or smartphones has been challenging. To accurately process the MRZ, the MRZ being passed through the slot needs to be steady. This is difficult as you make the slot smaller to accommodate the size of a tablet or phone.
Flat Bed—the entire photo page of a travel document is laid flat against a glass platen. The travel document remains in a stationary position and a photograph is taken triggered by a mechanical switch or an image sensor. These readers are even larger than swipe readers but offer greater accuracy and ability to process other areas of the travel document photo page other than the MRZ.
In addition, a camera only method is available. The MRZ is read with a camera as a still image or streamed with a series of images. The MRZ is captured without the aid of an enclosed or guided area for the MRZ portion of the travel document.
Although, the flatbed document reader has been adapted to a smartphone, the size requirements have been prohibitive in its success. The swipe reader also has had a limited success on portable devices. The small size of the guide rail has been a challenge to ensure a stable image for accurate OCR (Optical Character Recognition).
Finally, there is yet another kind of mobile document processing solution. There are many vendors offering multi-function and ruggedized identification processing units. These units are not an expansion of a smartphone or tablet, but customized from factors containing proprietary electronics. These solutions are, however, specifically targeted at U.S. Defense Department related functions. The result is that almost all of these devices don't come with a travel document reader. Most of them come with a magnetic reader for military IDs. In the odd case where a document reader is supplied, it is a small swipe reader attached to the unit.
In summary, although recent innovations have reduced the size of a document reader to attach to mobile devices, this still requires a bulky attachment and increases the size of the mobile device. Bluetooth-based readers allow mobile devices to be mounted temporarily or be free standing on a desk, relieving the user from holding it. However, those devices require batteries, need charging, require either switching holding the mobile device and reader, or holding both at the same time. Either scenario presents a risk to the law enforcement personnel by not leaving a free hand to operate his/her handgun.
Various devices and methods for scanning and recognizing information in objects/documents are available as illustrated in U.S. Patents/Publications Nos. U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,058,515; 9,031,278; 8,947,745; 8,705,836; 8,606,021; 8,290,273; 8,175,386; 7,813,547; 7,630,520; and 2013/0004076A1.